In today’s edition of Bitcoin in Brief we cover the development of two upcoming crypto phones, the involvement of cryptocurrency in cyber spy games, and why the Binance CEO came out against Etherum-founder Vitalik Buterin. We also cover the latest case of cryptojacking, this time inside a popular video game client.

Crypto Phones

New details about two upcoming blockchain phones have come out in recent days. HTC, the Taiwanese company which is developing Exodus, has announced it is partnering with Cryptokitties to incorporate the game in its mobile devices. “This is a significant first step in creating a platform and distribution channel for creatives who make unique digital goods,” the company stated. “Mobile is the most prevalent device in the history of humankind and for digital assets and dapps to reach their potential, mobile will need to be the main point of distribution. The partnership with Cryptokitties is the beginning of a non fungible, collectible marketplace and crypto gaming app store.”

Sirin Labs, which is designing the Finny in Israel, has revealed that the final design of the device contains a “Safe Screen”. The standalone screen that functions on dedicated firmware is meant to independently verify that wallet transactions are being sent to the correct addresses, allowing users to verify they’re not being tricked by malware or hackers. Zvika Landau, Co-CEO, said: “We’ve been working around-the-clock to provide our users with a multi-layer cyber protection suite to guard them against network attacks, host attacks, and malware fishing. The secured layers, combined with our revolutionary “Safe Screen” and the ultra-sleek design, enable us to offer our users comprehensive levels of cyber protection. This truly remarkable combination of protection, software, and the design of the phone, cohesively transforms the mobile environment into one that is secure enough for cryptocurrency transactions.”

Spy Games

And in other news from Israel, authorities have revealed the arrest of a 38-year-old man who tried to sell stolen software code for $50 million in cryptocurrency on the dark web. The man was an employee of the cyber espionage firm NSO Group and allegedly decided to steal the highly sensitive material after he was called for a hearing, which is a preliminary step before getting fired. The company, which officially provides “authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime,” is mostly known for developing the Pegasus iPhone spyware which was called the “most sophisticated” smartphone hack ever when it was publicly discovered. State Attorney’s Office stated that “the accused committed these crimes out of greed, despite knowing, even if he shut his eyes from seeing it, that his crimes might damage state security and lead to the collapse of a firm employing 500 workers.”

CZ Defends Centralized Exchanges After Vitalik Slam

A few days ago we reported that Vitalik Buterin has expressed a deep hatred for the particular business model at the heart of the current crypto trading ecosystem. “I definitely hope centralized exchanges go burn in hell as much as possible,” he said. A particular issue the Ethereum founder raised was how the centralized platforms can extract up to $15 million from projects that want to list their ICO tokens. Now, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has responded to publicly defend his industry. CZ core argument is that without centralized exchanges the field will develop ten times slower and will be ten times smaller. He additionally attacks the claim that decentralization is always better.

Got asked a few times, re: “Vitalik’s burn in hell”.

Let’s not wish others to “burn in hell”. Let’s have a bigger heart, and appreciate the fact that we are part of an eco-system… pic.twitter.com/4QYGKus0Gk

League of Legends Cryptojacking

Garena, an Asian consumer Internet platform which distributes the game League of Legends among others, has acknowledged that its client in the Philippines has been infected with the Coinhive crypto miner after gamers exposed the matter on Reddit. The company stated that: “there was an unauthorized modification of the League of Legends PH client lobby where a certain javascript code was inserted. This code performs blockchain mining on affected computers, which consumes CPU resources from these computers. Apart from increased CPU usage, extensive analysis from our security engineers has determined that there is no other impact on affected computers. Our security engineers have removed this javascript code and ensure that all users, including those who were previously affected, will no longer encounter this issue. We treat security matters with utmost priority and sincerely apologize for this incident, and for the inconvenience you have experienced.”

What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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